Howa Mini Action 6ARC Reviews

[ThatDUDE]

I have to make another plug for the Howa Mini in 6 ARC. Mine is currently set up with an SWFA 3-9 and a Hyperion K suppressor. My 8-year-old daughter shot it for the first time last night. She got a few hits on steel at 410 yards. In her words..."Dad I only want to shoot this gun now." Also, "Dad when can I get a gun like this?".

It was fun to see her enjoy it so much. The ideas presented in this forum about ballistics and cartridge capabilities when paired with the right projectile led me down the path to get a 6mm ARC for the kids. Thanks to all those who have contributed the wisdom.

 

[hereinaz]

I have to make another plug for the Howa Mini in 6 ARC. Mine is currently set up with an SWFA 3-9 and a Hyperion K suppressor. My 8-year-old daughter shot it for the first time last night. She got a few hits on steel at 410 yards. In her words..."Dad I only want to shoot this gun now." Also, "Dad when can I get a gun like this?".

It was fun to see her enjoy it so much. The ideas presented in this forum about ballistics and cartridge capabilities when paired with the right projectile led me down the path to get a 6mm ARC for the kids. Thanks to all those who have contributed the wisdom.

So happy for you and your daughter! How cool is that. Love it when a kid finds “their gun” and want to shoot.

 

[eric1115]

I have to make another plug for the Howa Mini in 6 ARC. Mine is currently set up with an SWFA 3-9 and a Hyperion K suppressor. My 8-year-old daughter shot it for the first time last night. She got a few hits on steel at 410 yards. In her words..."Dad I only want to shoot this gun now." Also, "Dad when can I get a gun like this?".

It was fun to see her enjoy it so much. The ideas presented in this forum about ballistics and cartridge capabilities when paired with the right projectile led me down the path to get a 6mm ARC for the kids. Thanks to all those who have contributed the wisdom.

It doesn't get much better than that.

 

[Fubijar]

Man, I love my little Mini in 6.5G and didn’t even realize a 6ARC was being made. Seems like that would be such a good fit, and at least around me the ammo is much much more available.

 

[General RE LEE]

I really enjoy my 22” sporter barrel Howa Mini barreled action I got from Brownells. I put it in a Bell and Carlson M40 stock and fitment was perfect with tons of room for the skinny barrel.

I have 320 rounds down the bore and found a 108 ELDM hand load that shoots sub MOA. Recoil is negligible with a can and I look forward to deer hunting with it later this year.

The factory HACT trigger has grown on me and I will not be replacing it.

 

[ThatDUDE]

I am loving these little Howa mini actions.

I got mine set up with a 6x SWFA and a Hyperion k suppressor.,

10 rounds just over 1 moa.

 

[General RE LEE]

My 6 ARC Howa is definitely a fun rifle and capable of fine accuracy with very little recoil.

 

[Qholum37]

Jcm, I have had a mini on backorder for a few months and waiting for delivery before ordering my Stocky's stock. Can you elaborate on why you would go with the VG version? My rifle will be primarily a range toy but may go hunting too. Thanks

Curiosity as much as anything, but I do prefer a vertical grip on anything I'm shooting prone. Most of my time with the 6ARC mini has been at 300 yards shooting prone. I'm starting to prefer a vertical grip even while shooting offhand...but I go back and forth on that. I can work with either grip style, prone or up, but I know my trigger pull is cleaner with a vertical grip. The Stockys with standard/classic grip is a fine stock, it's not an issue with the stock at all, just my preference is moving more to a vertical grip...and my curiosity to try the VG model.

I totally agree with this, I’m more comfortable with a vertical grip in all positions so that’s pretty much all I will be buying from here on out. More comfortable hand position and I would say just as fast handling for offhand quicker shots. I don’t see any downsides to a vertical grip.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

I totally agree with this, I’m more comfortable with a vertical grip in all positions so that’s pretty much all I will be buying from here on out. More comfortable hand position and I would say just as fast handling for offhand quicker shots. I don’t see any downsides to a vertical grip.

I picked up a VG mini stock a while back, swapped stocks, and have been shooting it on the 6ARC. From prone I much prefer the VG. Offhand...I'm still not an absolute either way. I do feel like I'm better able to follow a "mover" (side to side) while shooting offhand with a classic grip.

I do wish the mini VG stock's action width was the same as the mini hunter stock's action width. When carried in hand (JO bdl installed) the VG is noticeably wider and more square through the action inlet.

It's great to have these two options for the mini's.

 

[General RE LEE]

600 yards. How Mini 6 ARC 103 ELDX

 

[wabash503]

I really enjoy my 22” sporter barrel Howa Mini barreled action I got from Brownells. I put it in a Bell and Carlson M40 stock and fitment was perfect with tons of room for the skinny barrel.

I have 320 rounds down the bore and found a 108 ELDM hand load that shoots sub MOA. Recoil is negligible with a can and I look forward to deer hunting with it later this year.

The factory HACT trigger has grown on me and I will not be replacing it.





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What powders did you try out when developing your load? Thx.

 

[General RE LEE]

What powders did you try out when developing your load? Thx.

Leverevolution
TAC
Varget

I settled on Varget for temp stability.

 

[MTcasualhunter]

Has anyone done the bottom metal swap on these? I'm curious if it's worth? The current mag seems extremely east to drop which worries me.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Has anyone done the bottom metal swap on these? I'm curious if it's worth? The current mag seems extremely east to drop which worries me.

The current mag release is way better than the original. I had a grendel with exposed mag release and I was constantly dropping mags while carrying it. The new version is recessed and very hard to hit unintentionally.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Mine has turned out to be a sweet shooter with factory ammo. With these groups I likely won’t even mess with hand-loading for it. I took it bear hunting in montana this last week and it will come with me on my idaho bear hunt next week.

 

[MTcasualhunter]

Thanks for the reply!

The current mag release is way better than the original. I had a grendel with exposed mag release and I was constantly dropping mags while carrying it. The new version is recessed and very hard to hit unintentionally.

My only mini is in 300 blk and has the original exposed release. Looks like a 6 arc mini is in my future

 

[ThatDUDE]

Has anyone done the bottom metal swap on these? I'm curious if it's worth? The current mag seems extremely east to drop which worries me.

I have a Jefferson BM that takes the CZ mags on a .223. I also have a Jefferson hinged floor plate model on my 6mm ARC. Build quality is fantastic on both of them. I personally wouldn't hesitate to buy more. My kids will all be shooting Howa Minis of one variety or another, and I will continue to use Jefferson's stuff.

 

[General RE LEE]

Mine has turned out to be a sweet shooter with factory ammo. With these groups I likely won’t even mess with hand-loading for it. I took it bear hunting in montana this last week and it will come with me on my idaho bear hunt next week.

Nice! Pics of the rifle?

 

[TNHighlands]

For those with the mini in 6 arc, what improvements would you recommend? Trigger spring or aftermarket trigger? Stock choice?

Tikka guy but hear decent things about the howa actions. Thinking a mini with the heavier barrel in a stocky's vg would be a cool little setup.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

For those with the mini in 6 arc, what improvements would you recommend? Trigger spring or aftermarket trigger? Stock choice?

Tikka guy but hear decent things about the howa actions. Thinking a mini with the heavier barrel in a stocky's vg would be a cool little setup.

The JO BDL bottom metal is a nice improvement if you're not dedicated to DBM. It makes it much slimmer/trimmer and give more OAL freedom if you reload. I've been very impressed with the feeding.

Howa Mini Hinged Floorplate

jeffersonoutdoor.com

If you are set on DBM, JO's DBM is also nice. I've heard Howa has a new implementation of the mag release that work better but I've not used it.

Howa Mini Aluminum Triggerguard

Aftermarket aluminum triggerguard for the Howa Mini Action rifle.

jeffersonoutdoor.com

Stocky's Hunter or VG as you choose, is a nice improvement. I prefer the slim action of the Hunter when carrying, and after quite a bit of shooting, I'm not a fan of the VG. I really wanted to be. For me, it needs a larger dish for the thumb/palm (search thenar eminence). The trigger distance is really good, but I can't grip as I'd like because of the stock's contact with my muscles below the thumb. It may not be that way for everyone.

The trigger is 2 stage, which is different from most of what I shoot, but it was easy to adjust to. The triggers on mine have been easy to adjust to a "decent" hunting pull. I used a Timney for a while, but the factory was very usable for me after adjusting and I liked the 3 position options, so I changed back to it. The Timney was cleaner and lighter.